8 Things for the iPad Wish List

It goes without saying that you’re probably quite fond of the iPad. But that doesn’t mean that some features and improvements wouldn’t make it better. For example:

Time Limits: As part of the Restrictions setting under General Settings, parents can prevent their kids from using certain apps or limit their access to explicit content or material they don’t deem suitable for their age.

But Apple could go one step further and add time limits to kids’ activities, both overall and for specific apps. That way, mom or dad can say to Junior that yes, you can use your iPad, but only 30 minutes per day or 30 minutes for certain games, but longer if he is doing his homework.

Built-In Stand: Yeah, many accessory iPad covers include a stand that let you prop up the iPad for watching a movie or engaging in other activities. But other tablets have built-in stands.

Adobe Flash: The chances of Flash for the iPad are slim and none especially now that Adobe itself has abandoned full support for Flash. But it’s difficult to avoid web destinations that still require Flash.

USB connectivity: This wish is also unlikely to happen. Anyone who has used the iPad has made do without a USB port, thank you very much. Still, the capability to watch movies stored on a USB hard drive would be nice.

SD card slot: Yes, Apple sells a camera accessory for adding an SD card slot. Still, the company could somehow fit an SD card slot in a design in the future without sacrificing too much thickness. Hey, this is a wish list, not necessarily a reality check.

Live Tech Support: This clever feature appears on Amazon’s Fire HDX tablets as Mayday and offers access to a live tech support person who appears in a small video window, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

New colors: The iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 are available in silver, space gray, and gold. Meanwhile, the iPhone 5c comes in five colors. So although you can dress up an iPad in numerous cases and covers, why not come up with tablets in even more designer colors?

Wireless charging: Someday, you’ll plunk an iPad onto a charging pad to juice up the tablet. Of course, to enable such a feature, you’d probably have to produce a slightly thicker iPad.

Following are two wishes from a previous wish list:

Touch ID: Apple introduced its fingerprint scanner in the iPhone 5s, 6, and 6 Plus. It’s great to use your fingers in lieu of a standard passcode to unlock your device or authenticate purchases.

Update: This wish came true; the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 come with Touch ID.

Slo-mo video: Another feature that might be borrowed from the iPhone 5s, 6, and 6 Plus is a camera that can shoot slow-motion video. Heck, why not just have the same awesome camera and optics from the iPhone 6 Plus?

Update: Only part of this wish came true — the new iPad Air 2 shoots slo-mo video like a pro but the new iPad Mini 3 doesn’t.

One last thing: iOS 8 brought time-lapse video to most iPads. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you should.